Lawbeat: Porco movie takes liberties with characters

Published 4:38 pm, Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Christopher Porco, 28, pictured here in a prison mugshot taken at state prison in November 2009.

Christopher Porco, 28, pictured here in a prison mugshot taken at state prison in November 2009.

Lawbeat: Porco movie takes liberties with characters

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So the Christopher Porcostory is headed for the small screen. Is what actually happened headed there too?

Porco, now 29, was convicted in 2006 of the Nov. 15, 2004, ax killing of his father Peter and near-fatal maiming of his mother, Joan It is arguably the most high-profile murder case in the history of Albany County.

Filming on "Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story" began last week in Vancouver, British Columbia. Based on an early description of the project, some people familiar with the murder case might be scratching their heads about the upcoming Lifetime network flick.

A promo put out by Lifetime described Porco, played by actor Matt Barr, as a "beloved, handsome college student ... who was every girl's dream in the small town of Delmar, New York." The convicted killer's mother will be played by actress Lolita Davidovichwhile Eric McCormack(former star of "Will and Grace") will play a local police detective who sees Porco's mother nod "yes" when asked if her son attacked her.

Some of the main players in the actual case were not mentioned; others seem to be, shall we say, exaggerated.

"I definitely wouldn't describe (Porco) as a Romeo," said one law enforcement official very familiar with the Porco case.

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While Porco had some female admirers at his trial and a girlfriend at one point, placing a major girlfriend character in the film could be seen as a stretch. Actress Emily Bett Rickardswill play a Porco girlfriend.

McCormack's detective is clearly based on retired Bethlehem sleuth Christopher Bowdish, who now works for the U.S. Marshals service and has grayer hair and at least 10 years on McCormack.

When asked about the film possibly taking liberties, Lifetime spokeswoman Gina Noceroreplied, "Well, we say inspired by the true story."

It's unclear whether a character will be directly based on Terry Kindlon, the Albany lawyer, who with his wife, Laurie Shanks, defended Porco.

"I can't imagine a Lifetime drama being made about the intricacies of a motion for a change of venue," said Kindlon, who was OK with the casting "as long as it's not Pee-wee Herman."

Kindlon also turned serious.

"This event, this tragedy, in one sense it's Shakespearian. It really is a fascinating story, so it's easy to understand why someone would want to make a movie," Kindlon said. "My fear is it is going to open a lot of old wounds. That's just unfortunate. Obviously the story is in the public domain, and there's nothing we can do about it."

District Attorney David Soares' office gave a similar comment, saying: "While we understand the reasons for the media attention and interest in the facts surrounding this case, our main objective has always been holding this individual accountable for these devastating crimes. We feel justice has been served in this case and remain confident that Mr. Porco belongs in prison for the rest of his life."

Outside influences kept outside

To prevent outside influences from affecting the 16-member jury deciding the Troy absentee ballot-fraud trial, jurors have been kept from the halls and escorted to other building exits.

On Nov. 14, the second day of jury selection in the trial of Democratic Elections Commissioner Edward McDonough, former City Councilman Michael LoPorto showed up and talked to some people inside a courtroom filled with hundreds of potential jurors.

LoPorto, a gregarious restaurateur with a very noticeable voice, was acquitted of all possession of forged instrument charges against him at trial in July and is now very outspoken in his dislike for Special Prosecutor Trey Smith

As a result, LoPorto's presence in the courthouse — within earshot of jurors coming and going in the hallways — has apparently been the topic a conferences between a worried Smith, McDonough's attorney Brian Premoand Judge George Pulver Jr

While it appears LoPorto has not been banned from the courthouse, some measures put in place became apparent one day last week. Court officers at the front desk called the courtroom when LoPorto came into the building. While LoPorto stood talking to reporters outside the courtroom door, the blind in the window of the door was drawn and jurors were escorted from the building through a back entrance.

LoPorto said he was "surprised" by the attention, but he has chosen not to enter the courtroom.

The jury is being protected inside the courtroom as well. Both Smith and Premo have been very animated during testy testimony, with Premo at times smiling broadly and shaking his head looking straight at jurors when he hears what he considers iffy prosecution testimony. But on Monday a chuckle was heard during Smith's redirect of former City Clerk William McInerney, a key prosecution witness.

Smith objected, and the defense was chastised by Pulver.

The issue of undue jury influence was one of the issues of an Appellate Division decision in Rensselaer County in the 2002 rape trial of former Washington County town police chief Thomas Levandowski.

The justices found it improper that family members and friends of the victim as well as employees of the district attorney's office had seated themselves up front by the jury wearing ribbons of support during summations.